Thursday, April 11, 2013

Taking Education in Los Angeles Personally

Olivia Rubio and Edward Padgett

by J. Evert Jones and Olivia Rubio

The
latest drama in Los Angeles' mayoral election involves a challenge to
mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti, from Wendy Greuel, where she gave Mr.
Garcetti two hours notice to a debate on education. She has been
justifiably blasted in the media for her obvious media stunt. Here's
only one reason why:Wendy Greuel’s tweet Wednesday afternoon stated: “For me, education is personal, not a political issue.”

This
is a nice sentiment. It would be an admirable one if Ms. Greuel allowed
it to stand on its own. However, she manages to squeeze into the same
tweet: “I’m ready to debate today—Eric Garcetti, will you join me?”--
effectively turning her “personal issue” into a political one. In other
words, Ms. Greuel apparently can’t type out 140 characters of text
without contradicting herself.

On her website, Ms. Greuel goes
in-depth about her “personal issue” by making vague, passive references
to being a LAUSD mom. Compare this with candidate Garcetti’s record,
which not only includes teaching at USC and Occidental College, but
continues to this day as he has helped more than 1,500 local
constituents learn about the governmental process by hosting Government
and Planning 101 courses throughout the city.

It’s nice that
Wendy Greuel believes education to be a personal issue. Education is the
main road to empowerment—not only for one’s personal well-being, but
also for our city’s economy and overall prosperity. Our challenge to Ms.
Greuel then, is to take the issue of education in Los Angeles
personally and seriously. Don’t use “education” as a thinly veiled
pretext for political grandstanding.

Contact Edward

ed.padgett@gmail.com

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About this blog and The Pressmens Club

The blog was started to talk about issues impacting the pressroom both positively and negatively. The views expressed here are not of the LA Times, but of each individual's opinion. The Pressmen's Club is composed of men and women who have printed the paper for twenty years or more. Semi-annual dinners are held in March and October. See Ed Padgett for more information.